Recorder Songs - Learn Tue Tue

Recorder Songs - Learn Joe Magarac

How to Play the Recorder

Vicki Boeckman is an active and passionate performer of all styles of music and plays all sizes of recorders. Her travels and performances have taken her across the United States as well as Denmark, Norway, Sweden, England, Scotland and Germany. Her various recordings can be heard on the Kontra Punkt, Classico, Da Capo, Horizon, Musical Heritage America, Paula, Kadanza, and Primavera labels.

In great demand as a teacher of the recorder and related performance practices, Vicki coaches and teaches at workshops and seminars all over the United States and in British Columbia. She was chosen to be the recorder in-resident at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology in 2005 and 2010. She is current Artistic Director for the Port Townsend Early Music Workshop and is the Music Director for the Portland Recorder Society. Vicki has been on the faculty of the Music Center of the Northwest in Seattle since 2005, and with colleague, Darlene Franz, is the resident recorder teacher for the 3rd grade recorder program at West Woodland Elementary. She is also on the faculty for the newly launched early music program at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle.

Since settling in Seattle in 2004, Vicki has been a featured soloist with the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Portland Opera, Philharmonia Northwest Orchestra and the Skagit Symphony. She is a returning guest with the Medieval Women’s Choir led by Margriet Tindemans and the Gallery Concerts Series. Her Seattle-based chamber trio, Ensemble Electra, with violinist Tekla Cunningham and harpsichordist Jillon Stoppels Dupree, specialize in music of the 17th and 18th centuries as well as newly-composed works. Her duo with recorder maker David Ohannesian is a popular addition to the Early Music Guild’s School Programs, and is often asked to return to the same schools year after year.

Vicki resided in Denmark from 1981-2004. She taught at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen for 12 years, and at the Ishøj Municipal School of Music for 23 years. She co-founded a regional recorder orchestra for children and teenagers which continues to flourish and grow. She was also co-founder of two Danish-based ensembles, Opus 4, and Wood’N’Flutes, with whom she continues to perform as often as possible in spite of the geography.

For more on Vicki, visit her website www.vickiboeckman.com

Playing the Recorder - Articulation

Professional recorder player and teacher Vicki Boeckman discusses basic articulation syllables and simple rhytmical patterns on the soprano recorder.

Vicki Boeckman: Hi! I am Vicki Boeckman with the American Recorder Society. We are talking about how to play the Recorder and today, I am going to tell you about Articulation. So when we speak we strive to enunciate clearly so that others can understand us. When we play an instrument, we need to do the same thing. On a wind instrument such as the recorder is, we have to articulate with our tongues, with violin, it would be the bow and with piano it would be the finger tips. But on the wind instruments we do this with out tongues. I want to careful that I don't touch the recorder with my tongue, but I wanted to be as natural as possible. So I am actually going to say words or imagine that I am saying words just like I would speak my everyday language. So let's start by just saying a series of Tos and Dos, as if you had to say, well I have to do this or to do that. So to, to, to, to or do, do, do, do. And then hold your hand up and speak into your hand tos, to, to, to, to, to and then do, do, do, do, do. Feel the percussive difference between the tos and the dos. So now let's choose a note on the recorder something sort of neutral, let's take this A and do, tos. [Music]And listen for that the point that, the very point that your tongue hits right behind your teeth. [Music]So we don't want to stop the note, we just want to be aware of starting it. Okay and now do the same thing on do. [Music]It's a slight and a very subtle difference, it should sound and it should feel a little bit softer. Okay, so now try tos and dos together. [Music]And then try doing this rhythm, its going to be an 8th note into 16s. [Music]So remember to have a continuous flow of air. So we don't want to stop the air stream just because our tongue is coming out behind our teeth and pronouncing a syllable. Remember the low notes will take a very-very slow air speed, so if we blow too sharply, we won't get the right sound. So we need to relax but still have the action of the tongue. So practice these articulation patterns on all of the notes that you can. So it's good to start in the middle of the instrument, sort of around G, A or B. Let's do 16th notes on B. [Music]So remember to keep that even breath flow, continuous air stream and your tongue is going to hit right behind your teeth where you usually speak. [Music]And then try that on several different notes. [Music]Try this rhythm as well.

[Music]So that was one 8th and two 16th. To, to do to, to do to, to do to, to do to, etc. So these tips will help you with articulation on the recorder.